Apparatus for actuating the lever of a railway-signal



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-'-Sheet 1.

A H. STETSON.

APPARATUS FOR AOTUATING-THE LEVER OF A RAILWAY SIGNAL.

Elm-313,895. Patented Mar. 17,1885.

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(No Model.) 2 She'ets-Sheet 2.,

A. H STETSON APPARATUS FOR AGTUATING THE LEVER OF A RAILWAY SIGNAL. No. 313,895. Patented Mar. 17,1885.

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AMOS HENRY STETSON, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING THE LEVER 0F A RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 313,895, dated March. 17, 1885.

Application filed June 30, 1884.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, AMos HENRY STETSON, of Brookline, in the county of Norfolk, of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machinery for Actuating the Lever of aRailway Signal or Switch Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the same to be described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a top view, Fig. 2 an outer side elevation, and Fig. 3 a transverse section, of mechanism of my invention, adapted to one of the rails of a railway-track. Fig. 4 is a top View, Fig. 5 a front elevation, and Fig. 6 a rear elevation, of a lever operative mechanism applied to the outer side of the rail and pivoted to the lever, a side view of which and its said pivot is shown in Fig. 7. Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11 are views hereinafter explained, and illustrating the operation of the device.

The nature of my invention is duly defined in the claim hereinafter presented.

Such invention relates to mechanism for moving a lever on its fulcrum in order for such lever to putin operation some other mechanisrnsuch as, for instance, that of a signal, or that for moving the switch of a railway such mechanism for operating the lever being actuated by the wheel or wheels of a car or train in passing over it, (the said mechanism.) With my improvement the lever will be moved while a car or train may' be running in one direction on the rail, but will not be moved when the car is moving in the opposite way.

In the drawings, A denotes the rail, and B the lever to be operated, such lever being fulcrumed to a pedestal, 0, arranged so as to bring the lever to range at right angles to the rail. Under the shorter arm of the lever is a spring, D, for forcing such arm upward, and consequently the other arm downward. Arranged against the outer side of the rail are the lever-depressor E and its actuator F, the said depressor being pivoted to the end of the shorter arm of the lever, or turns on a pivot, a, extended therefrom. The actuator F is a long bar or arm, shaped as shown, and is pivoted near its rear end to the rail, and rests near its front end on a spring, G, which oper- (No model.)

ates to force it upward after a depression of it by a car-wheel in running over it lengthwise of it. Theactuator, by means of ashort arm, 1), extending from it at its front end, is pivoted to the depressor E, their connection, pivot 0 being arranged aside of the pivot a, the same being so as to cause the said depressor to be turned on its pivot a toward and by the actuator while such actuator is in the act of being depressed by a wheel running over it in a direction toward the depressor. The depressor has its upper edge or part, ef, thereof straight, and from such edge is sloped downward at an obtuse angle thereto, as shown at f g, the extreme end f of such edge being a little in rear of a line at a right angle to the edge of, and going through the axis of the pivotal hole t. The depressor at its rear part may have a weight, is, extending from one side of it to turn it backward, or aid in doing so,

. as it may rise with the lever B. Such depressor also has extending from it at its opposite side a projection, Z, to abut against the arm Z), in order to stop the depressor from turning backward too far on its pivot. The lower edge of the actuator F may be inclined transversely, as shown in Fig. 8, which is a cross-section of the rail and its actuator, the inclination of such edge being to cause it to clear from beneath the actuator, while such actuator is in the act of being moved downward, any snow or matter that may at any time get under the actuator and be. liable to interfere with its proper action were its lower edge not inclined transversely. A wheel in running over the depressor toward the actuator will, on striking the depressor, force it and the shorter arm of the lever'B downward. On the wheel advancing beyond the pivot a and over the de pressor the latter will be turned on the pivot, so as to depress the actuator in order for the wheel to enter upon and run over it. As soon as the wheel may have passed both depressor and actuator, they will be forced upward into their highest or normal positions, or above the top or tread of the rail, as shown in Fig. 2. If we suppose the wheel to be running in the opposite direction-that is, first over the actuator and toward the depressor-such wheel on passing upon the actuator will force it downward to a level with the tread of the rail, and in so doing will turn the depressor on its pivot and pass over the depressor without causing it to move the lever B. Under such circumstances the inclined part f g of the depressor will be thrown up to a level with or in the plane of the tread of the rail.

Fig. 9 shows the positions of thedepressor and actuator at the instant a wheel. \V, touches the depressor on the passage of the wheel over it toward the actuator.

Fig. 10 shows the positions of the depressor and actuator when the wheel has reached the latter and depressed the shorter arm of the lever, and is just ready to enter upon the actuator.

Fig. 11 exhibits the positionsof the depressor and actuator when the wheel is upon the actuator, and the latter is by the wheel forced down to a level with the top or tread of the rail.

I claim The combination of the rail and lever with the depressor arranged aside of the rail and pivoted to the said lever, andwith the actuator arranged aside of the rail and pivoted both to the rail and to the depressor, such actuator being obtuse angular on its upper edge, and with a spring or springs arranged to restore the parts to their normal positions, and all being constructed and arranged substantially in manner to operate as set forth.

AMOS HENRY STETSON.

Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, E. B. PRATT. 

